Wall-to-Wall Carpet in the Bathroom: Ewww or Ahhh?

Yes, it's true. When we moved into our home there was wall-to-wall carpeting in our bathrooms. After a few rather forthright guests questioned the hygiene implications I resolved to get rid of the carpeting. My husband pushed back. "I like it," he said. "It's warm on my feet." Another 365 baths later, wrangling my water-logged, raucous, slippery young kids out of the tub and I realized that warmth wasn't the only bonus of bathroom carpeting. Kids slip on tiled floors; kids don't slip on carpets.

The ick factor is pretty obvious to anyone with any imagination, especially when you consider the area directly surrounding the base of the toilet. And then there is the possibility of toothpaste stains or soapy splashes. Not to mention the fact that the carpets were here before we moved in, though the previous owners were impossibly tidy, meticulous and lovely people (we became friends through the sale). For me, this makes a difference.

But we have decided to stick with carpeting. Wall-to-wall carpeting in our bathrooms looks and feels really nice, warm and luxurious. It somehow suits the old-fashioned William Morris wallpaper. It feels so good to step out of the shower onto carpeting on a cold day. The carpeting is a low pile and made of high-quality stain-resistant wool. We have it professionally cleaned at least once a year. And I have placed matching Restoration Hardware bathmats in front of the dual sinks to minimize stains. Underneath the carpeting is some rather nasty old tile which we could rip out and re-tile whenever we like.